The wife and teenage daughter of the world-famous American climber who was swept out to sea off the Kerry coast are clinging to hope that he is still alive.

Michael Reardon's wife, Marci and their daughter, Nicki (13) arrived in Ireland from Los Angeles at lunchtime yesterday and went straight to the cliff where he was last seen.

There they met with rescue personnel involved in the search and watched as efforts to find the climber continued.

Marci and Nicki are said to be hopeful that Michael is still alive as he is a particularly strong swimmer and a superbly fit man.

A vigil is to be held for his safe return tomorrow in Valentia. The family were accompanied yesterday by Kerry mountaineer, Con Moriarty, a close friend of the missing man.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the photographer who was with Mr Reardon when he fell into the sea tried to throw him a rope. Visual contact was also maintained with Mr Reardon for some moments and he also responded to calls.

The photographer then ran to alert the local lifeboat which was immediately launched. ...

... Valerie O'Sullivan, a photographer from Killarney who had accompanied him on a number of climbs, told The Times that his death had shocked the climbing community in Ireland.

"He was standing below a climb he had just completed and the photographer, Damon Corso, was about 30ft away taking pictures of him.

"Michael was on a real high after the climb. He was about 10ft above the sea and he let go and had his hands out, celebrating, to say he had completed the climb of his life. But then a rogue wave just came in.

"The wave hit him on the knees and he lost his balance and slipped on the algae. He was shouting for help but there was nothing Damon could do.

Miss O'Sullivan said Mr Corso raised the alarm from his mobile telephone. "It is very unpredictable and there are some very powerful waves," she continued. "It's a bottomless pit made up of caves and caverns below the water. It is treacherous. ...

Michael Reardon, 36, the accomplished free soloist based out of Oak Park, California, went missing off the southwestern coast of Ireland around 5 p.m. Friday. He had just completed a climb near the Valentia Marine Radio Station, on the small island of Valentia, when a rogue wave took him into the sea. He did not fall 70 feet from the cliff top, or while climbing, as earlier reports had indicated. This is a report from his friend, the photographer Damon Corso, who was there at the time:

"It was just another day of climbing on Atlantic sea cliffs in Ireland with Mike (Reardon). We had arrived on Valentia Island in a slight fog and drizzle. Mike took me around the bottom of Wireless Point to an inlet merely 15 feet above the roaring Atlantic, a situation we were now used to. We arrived at a spot he had climbed at alone two weeks prior. Mike up and downed two different climbs while I shot photos trying to combine him and the raw force of the waves crashing all around us. He finished the two climbs and was waiting, on an-algae covered platform, for the big swells to pass by so that he could walk back over to me on the opposite side of the inlet. A rouge wave came into the inlet and curved rightwards as it crashed into Mike. He tried to stabilize himself on the platform but the water was too powerful and sucked him in. The current pulled Mike out 150-plus meters in mere seconds. I ran up the hill to the Valentia Coast Guard station a mile away. Mike was still conscious in the water when I left him. The Coast Guard arrived on the scene no more than 15 minutes after the incident. Mike was nowhere to be seen at this point. Twelve volunteer rescue boats, the Coast Guard Lifeboat and Chopper were on the scene that evening."

Rescue services worked until dark on Friday. And on Saturday, more Coast Guard boats and divers from the Naval Service combed the area, with searchers on foot looking along the shore. A helicopter with an infrared scanner searched on Friday and Saturday as well. Reardon had not been found as of Sunday, when it was reported that the search was scaling back

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THE devastated photographer friend of world-famous rock climber Michael Reardon, who was swept away by a freak wave while standing on a flat ledge along the coast of Kerry, has spoken of the tragic irony of the incident.

"The sad irony of it was that Michael wasn't climbing at the time. He was standing about a metre away from the sea on a flat ledge, which was only about three feet over the Atlantic, when a rogue wave came and knocked him over," said Con Moriarty.

"It buckled his knees so he fell onto his back and slid down an algae ledge and into the surf where he was unable to get back again. He was carried by a current and was last seen a few hundred metres out, shouting and waving."

Mr Reardon, an American in his early 30s and one of the world's leading free solo climbers, was staying with Mr Moriarty at the foot of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Co Kerry, during a month-long visit to the area, designed to promote Irish adventure holidays to the US market.

"We were to have dinner later that night," the stunned photographer explained. "He was anxious to taste some malt whiskey before he went home. He was here for a month and due to go home yesterday." ...

...Mr Reardon had been walking along the top of a cliff at Dohilla when he slipped on some heavy kelp and was unable to regain his footing. He plunged some 75ft into the sea below. The alarm was raised by his fellow climbers.

A major search operation for an American man who fell 70 feet into the sea off the Kerry coast is winding down for the night and due to resume at first light The missing man is 32 year old Michael Reardon, from Connecticut... one of the world's leading Free Soloists..

Are we sure we're talking about the same Michael Reardon? I'm just curious because "our" Mike Reardon is certainly older than 32--and lives in California rather than Connecticut.

Whoever it is, of course, I hope he is found to be OK.

Curt

I thought this too, the only thing that worries me is that in his latest "Pro Blog" on climbing.com. He says he just landed in Ireland. Who knows exactly when he wrote this, doesn't say on the site, but it is his most recent post. Anyway, like you said whatever may have happened I hope the person is alright.

A MAJOR search and rescue operation was underway off the Co Kerry coast last night after a world-famous rock climber fell from a cliff and plunged into the sea.

Michael Reardon, an American in his early 30s, is considered to be one of the leading free solo climbers in the world.

Such extreme climbers shun equipment such as ropes and crampons and instead use only their hands and boots to scale rock faces hundreds of feet high.

He arrived in the country around two weeks ago as part of a tourism promotion and is understood to have been helping promote adventure holidays in Ireland to American and European tourists.

He had been staying in Killarney and was visiting Valentia Island with two friends when the accident occurred shortly after 5pm yesterday.

Mr Reardon had been walking along the top of a cliff at Dohilla when he slipped on some heavy kelp and was unable to regain his footing. He plunged some 75ft into the sea below. The alarm was raised by his fellow climbers.

A large air and sea search was quickly underway with three local fishing vessels assisting the Valentia lifeboat and Knightstown Coastguard. The Shannon-based Sea King Coastguard helicopter, which is equipped with infra-red cameras, was also scrambled to scan the coastline.

On land, members of the Kerry Mountain Rescue and local hill-walking clubs scanned the shore assisted by around 20 local people.

However, by late last night, there was still no sign of the talented climber. Rescuers said visibility was good and they were due to continue the search until the light faded late last night. The spot where Mr Reardon fell is located just underneath the Valentia Coastguard station and is popular with climbing enthusiasts.

Just two months ago in the United States, Mr Reardon completed some of the most difficult climbs in The Rockies. He has also done some of the most challenging descents around the world. Fellow rock climbers said last night that "his whole life revolves around climbing".

His face has featured on the front covers of more American and European climbing magazines than any other climber since Chris Bonnington, the English mountaineer and Everest climber.

Mr Reardon had been walking along the top of a cliff at Dohilla when he slipped on some heavy kelp and was unable to regain his footing. He plunged some 75ft into the sea below. The alarm was raised by his fellow climbers.

The weather station just above the point where Michael fell is repotring fine weather. We've had pretty aweful weather over here of late, but this break in the bad weather might be helpful. The wind and sea state are favourable at present and there are plenty of local climbers living down in that area who will be out in force helping in the search. The local mountain rescue team - Kerry - are all good friends of Michael's and will be doing their very best to find him ASAP. Fingers crossed he's found quickly...

The search is still taking place at the moment with no news updates. The tide was going out at the time of the fall, with a strong sea...last time a spokesman was on air he said, Michael was strong and fit, but with the power of the turning tide...If I hear anymore I'll update you guys. Hope and pray

Just sucks. If it was the wave thing...my dad died the same way, standing near the ocean, next thing he was in the water. I was 12. I'm so sad for his family. Even if he ends up being okay, they must be just devastated right now. So many prayers for them.

I met Mike and chatted with him for a bit at Boulderdash in Westlake Village, CA, where he was climbing with his daughter. He was nothing but nice and helpful, offering beta on some of the boulder problems he'd put up, in between belaying his daughter.